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Is “social media common sense” common?

We all have that person who we follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or whatever social media platform it may be, for the sake of pure entertainment. They use thirty hashtags per post, update their status every 12 minutes, and say things that we absolutely don’t need to know about their lives. There are times you get so very annoyed with their incessant posting that you almost unfollow or defriend them, but you don’t, because when you go to do it, you see something that makes you pee your pants a little bit. You’re not laughing with them, you’re laughing at them.

Last night while out with two of my cousins, one of them was telling us about this girl she knew who kept a detailed, public blog about her pregnancy. My cousin told us all of the way too personal details, which I will spare you because some of them made me cringe. After hearing this, and thinking about my over-active friends on social media, I began to ponder the question, “How much is too much on social media?” and, “What should people not post on social platforms?”

I suppose the answer to these questions are different for everyone, but I’ve made a list of my own of things that are just straight up annoying, or inappropriate on social media. Take a look.

Is “social media common sense” common?

A. Don’t share every detail about your personal life.

This includes your bodily functions, fights with your significant other, or how heartbroken you are over a recent break up. Seriously. This makes everyone else feel really awkward. In addition, saving details makes your IRL conversations that much deeper and entertaining. A little mystery is always a good thing.

B. Don’t post insensitive or offensive comments.

Avoid subjects like race, death, religion, or touchy political issues. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t have an opinion on any of these topics, just that you should be extra cautious when posting about any of them. Think before you tweet it is a good rule of thumb. If you know it will be offensive, it might be best to leave off.

C. Don’t pick a public fight.

If you don’t like what someone has posted on their social media account, ignore it. This will have a much better result than if you commented back about how and why this person is wrong. An in-person conversation is the best medium if you really feel strongly about the content and desire to have a conversation about it. Leave the rest of Facebook out of it.

D. Don’t trash talk people on social media.

I think we’ve all seen those status updates that indirectly, or even directly, call someone out. This is followed by that person commenting something like, “Come at me bro”. This begins a back and forth fight packed with swearing and other offensive remarks which leave both parties looking dumb.

E. Don’t overpost.

We get you want to keep people in your network up to date on your life, but spamming is really annoying. You don’t need to post every thought that your mind comes across. Again, we all like a little mystery – give us a reason to catch up with you in person.

I think sometimes people forget that virtually anyone can see what you post on your social media page, not just your close friends. If you want to reminisce on an old memory you shared with a friend, text or call them. If there is a message you want to share with all of your followers, keep it short and sweet. Unfortunately, not everyone in your social network will follow these suggestions, but this way, at least you’ll have someone keeping you entertained.